wonderstruck without words at who You arelook up, You beckon look up at the vastness and remember the sky and the way it reminds you of the vastnessof My love for you.a knowing....that surpasses knowledge. (what does that even mean??)

For this is God, our God forever and ever;He will be our guide even to death.O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You,I will praise Your name,for You have done wonderful things;Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.psalm 48:14, isaiah 25:1

there are no guarantees. Life turns, not as we will it, nor how we prepare for it. Rather, God holds all of our futures in His strong hand, and in His perfect timing. That means we cannot protect against bullets any more certainly than we can protect against a broken heart, both literally and figuratively. Our children's hearts WILL be broken, as will ours, whether we live in the city or the suburbs. And yes, we will find ourselves in pain and perhaps weeping through the night. But this problem cannot be relegated to simply living in a broken neighborhood. Because the truth remains that we live in an entire world broken in need of a Savior.

Today a watercolor hangs in our kitchen, a rainbow turtle painted by small hands and offered as a gift. My son didn't paint to impress, to win, or to compete. He painted as an act of love for me. His expression warms my heart, not because the painting is good but because the boy is mine....Perhaps the most beautiful work you can do today is to begin to accept your creative inheritance from God and learn to become yourself in the presence of others, moving into the world as the person you fully are no matter where you are, who you're with, or what's gone wrong.

tomorrow is the last day of school before break. half a year of 3rd, 5th, and 9th grade over. 2 weeks off to play legos and worship and rest....and maybe if the forecast is accurate a snow fort? of course there will be bickering and finding ourselves in eachothers way and the smallness of this house will feel too tight at times. and at other's the smallness of this house will feel cozy and just right.

as we all enter in with extra food and family and time together....

may we find places of rest where we least expect them, a bench to sit on and someone who speaks our language. may the wonder of it all, the Love that came down to free us from the vows we take and the prisons we make..... oh this Christmas.... may there be just a little more freedom and a lot more grasping of the height and depth and width and breadth of a Father who loves like no other.

and the thing i've been praying for the 5 of us under this roof is many many moments of gut wrenching stomach hurting pants peeing laughter! may you have the same??

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.I am the good shepherd. (john 10)